Business broker in Atlanta.
Before that, we ran the companies.
The Nolan Scott Team represents owners of service and manufacturing companies in metro Atlanta doing $1M to $15M+ in revenue: a confidential sale process, buyer representation, and M&A advisory when the buyer is another company. The office is at 1372 Peachtree St NE in Midtown. Nolan built, ran and sold two companies of his own before taking a listing, and the partner on the deal is a litigation attorney.
Brokered by eXp Commercial and eXp Realty. Licensed in Georgia and Tennessee. Member, International Business Brokers Association.
Three ways a company changes hands,
under one roof.
Most Atlanta brokerages sell businesses. Fewer represent the buyer. Almost none model the building in the same transaction. This firm does all three, which matters because the building, the lease and the business are usually one decision an owner has to make together.
Selling your business
Three years of financials recast into a defensible SDE figure, a blind teaser, a vetted buyer pool, competing offers, and a closing attorney who has read the contract.
Buying a business
Buy box definition, off-market sourcing, quality of earnings, SBA 7(a) structuring, and a cash flow model that says whether the deal services its debt before you sign.
Mergers and acquisitions
When the logical buyer is another company: full acquisition, partial recapitalization or strategic partnership, with litigation counsel on the deal from the letter of intent.
Blue-collar companies
with real earnings.
HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors. Landscaping, cleaning and facilities companies. Roofing, concrete, millwork and general contracting. Machine shops, fabricators, stone and cabinet manufacturers. Wholesale and distribution. Owners whose discretionary earnings sit between roughly $250K and $3M, and whose buyers are search funds, private equity platforms, strategic acquirers and SBA-financed operators.
If your business is smaller than that, or a restaurant, there are Atlanta brokers set up for it and we will say so on the first call rather than take the listing.
The broker has been the seller. Nolan built, ran and exited two companies before representing anyone else's. He knows which add-backs survive diligence because he has defended them.
An attorney is on the deal. Devon Griger is a litigation attorney at Maynard Nexsen and a licensed real estate broker. The letter of intent, the purchase agreement and the lease are read by someone who litigates them.
The building is modeled with the business. Sell the real estate with the company, hold it and lease it back, or separate the two. One firm, one model, one transaction.
Small on purpose. You work with Nolan from the valuation to the closing table. No handoff to an associate once the engagement is signed.
Six phases.
Nine to twelve months.
Most of that time is spent before your business ever reaches a buyer. The preparation decides which offers you get to compare, and it is the part a rushed listing skips.
Three years of financials recast into SDE, every add-back documented well enough to survive a lender's review, and a range you can plan around.
Cleanup, documentation, and the offering memorandum. This is where the work that moves the multiple happens, ideally a year out.
A blind teaser to a vetted buyer pool: search funds, PE platforms, strategics and SBA-ready operators. Nothing identifying leaves without a signed NDA.
Competing letters of intent, compared on structure and certainty rather than headline price. Two offers at the same number can be worth hundreds of thousands apart.
Quality of earnings, lender underwriting, lease assignment and the purchase agreement, with counsel reading every draft.
Funding, transition and the handover plan. Employees, customers and competitors learn at closing unless you chose to tell them sooner.
Five point zero,
across twenty-three reviews.
The count is Google reviews on the verified Business Profile for The Nolan Scott Team, which covers every side of the business, residential real estate included. Business sales are confidential by nature and most sellers do not review them publicly.
Metro Atlanta,
and the Chattanooga corridor.
The office is in Midtown and most engagements are inside the Perimeter or along the northern arc. Nolan is also licensed in Tennessee and works North Georgia and Chattanooga. Business brokerage is not limited by state, and the buyers for a company this size come from across the Southeast and nationally, so the question is where the business is, not where the buyer is.
- Midtown
- Buckhead
- Sandy Springs
- Dunwoody
- Roswell
- Alpharetta
- Marietta
- Kennesaw
- Smyrna
- Decatur
- Chamblee
- Duluth
- Lawrenceville
- Peachtree City
- Newnan
- Gainesville
- Dalton
- Chattanooga
Real estate services are limited to the states where the relevant license is held: Georgia and Tennessee for Nolan, with South Carolina added for Devon.
What Atlanta owners ask
before they call a broker.
What does a business broker in Atlanta charge?
A success fee at closing, on a scale that declines as the price rises, with nothing up front for the valuation and the first conversation. The scale and the minimum are set out in the engagement agreement before you sign anything. If you are a year or more out, you can start on a monthly advisory retainer instead, and what you pay there is credited against the closing fee when you list with us, up to half of that fee.
What size and type of business do you represent?
Service and manufacturing companies doing $1M to $15M+ in revenue: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, cleaning and facilities, construction trades, machine shops, fabrication, distribution. Businesses where the owner's earnings are between roughly $250K and $3M and the buyer is a search fund, a private equity platform, a strategic acquirer or an operator with SBA financing. Smaller main street businesses and restaurants are better served elsewhere, and we say so on the first call.
Are you licensed, and who is the brokerage?
The Nolan Scott Team is brokered by eXp Commercial for business and commercial work and by eXp Realty for residential. Nolan Scott holds real estate licenses in Georgia and Tennessee, which is what a transaction that includes the premises requires, and is a member of the International Business Brokers Association. Devon Griger is a licensed real estate broker in Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina and a litigation attorney at Maynard Nexsen.
How long does it take to sell a business in Atlanta?
Nine to twelve months from engagement to funding is the realistic range, and most of that is spent before a buyer ever sees the business. Preparation is what decides which offers you get to compare. A rushed listing is the most reliable way to end up negotiating with one buyer who knows they are the only one at the table.
Will my employees, customers or competitors find out the business is for sale?
Not from us, and not before you decide. Buyers see a blind teaser with no company name, no address and no identifying detail. Anything beyond that requires a signed confidentiality agreement, and the full financial package is released in stages. Employees, customers and competitors learn at closing unless you choose to tell them sooner.
Do you work outside Atlanta?
Yes. The office is on Peachtree Street in Midtown and most listings are in metro Atlanta, from Marietta and Alpharetta down to Peachtree City and out to Lawrenceville. Nolan is also licensed in Tennessee and works the Chattanooga and North Georgia corridor. Business brokerage itself is not limited by state, and buyers for a company this size come from across the Southeast and nationally.
The first conversation is
just a conversation.
Forty minutes on what the business is worth, what a buyer would find, and whether now is the time. Confidential, no listing agreement, and the number comes back the same week.